Cloud gaming is now available, with the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, allowing for select games to be played on a phone or tablet, making it absolutely necessary to have a controller to fit in line with the gameplay. The 8BitDo SN30 Pro Bluetooth Controller is a compact solution for cloud gaming and is available for Android phones and tablets. We tested this controller to see how it works with the cloud service.
Size and Construction
The body form is that of a Super Nintendo controller, with an Xbox similar button layout. The 8BitDo controller has stout construction, responsive buttons, and includes a fairly substantial smartphone clip. The phone clip is well built and is capable of supporting a large phone. That being said, the controller is a little smaller and lighter weight than the average android phone, which tends to make the combination imbalanced and top-heavy. The included phone clip does, however, have two points of articulation, which can help to counter the uneven feel. Positioning my phone over the top of the buttons helped to give the rig a more balanced feel.
Feel of the Controller
The button layout is familiar enough to the OEM Xbox controller that the feel of the controller isn’t hard to use. The size of the accessory does take away from faster gameplay, at least in terms of muscle memory. The bumpers and triggers are small and close together, so it does take time to become comfortable with trigger locations. D-pad and Left stick are reversed, compared to the Xbox controller, making it more similar to a PlayStation layout in that regard, but that doesn’t seem to change the play. The compact design places the button cluster closer to the right thumb, but we didn’t see any adverse effects from this.
This controller has an internal rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, rated for 16 hours of gameplay, and charges with USB-C (cable included). With a fully drained battery, the charge time was seen at just under 2 hours. Button configurations and joystick sensitivity can be adjusted with software downloadable from the 8bitdo web site.
Buy it on Amazon
Available for $44.99 on Amazon (at the time of this article) the 8BitDo SN30 Pro controller is a good product for the price, and a great way to experience Xbox Cloud Gaming.